After sharing the honours with continental heavyweights Oman in the first of two International Friendlies on Thursday, India take on the United Arab Emirates. (More Football News)
India conceded an own goal to minutes before the break, then hit back with a Manvir Singh header in the second half to settle the match 1-1. Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, who got the nod ahead of regular Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, also saved a penalty as India impressed against dominant Oman.
But against UAE, India will need to up their game. UAE are 74th in FIFA ranking, while Oman are 81st. And India are 104th. The last time India played UAE was in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 where the Blue Tigers went down 0-2.
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India, however, can continue to play a fearless brand of football as envisaged by head coach Igor Stimac. The Croatian, in fact, handed 10 players their international debuts in the clash against Oman -- a record - and it tells the level of confidence in the Indian camp.
Head-to-head: This will be their 15th meeting. UAE lead the head-to-head record 9-2, with three draws. UAE have scored 26 as against seven by India.
Check match and telecast details:
Match: International friendly match between the United Arab Emirates and India
Date: March 29 (Monday), 2021
Time: 8:30 PM IST/7:00 PM Local
Venue: Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, UAE
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TV Channel: Eurosport
Live Streaming: JioTV
Squads:
India: Goalkeepers - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Dheeraj Moirangthem; Defenders - Ashutosh Mehta, Akash Mishra, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Konsham, Adil Khan, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mashoor Shereef; Midfielders - Rowllin Borges, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Thounaojam, Raynier Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Bipin Thounajam, Yasir Mohammad, Suresh Wangjam, Halicharan Narzary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan; Forwards: Manvir Singh, Ishan Pandita, Hitesh Sharma, Liston Colaco.
Head Coach: Igor Stimac (Croatia)
UAE: Goalkeepers - Ali Khasif, Khaled Issa, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahd Al Dhanhani; Defenders - Bandar Al-Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdel-Rahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Al-Hammadi, Hassan Al-Mahrami, Al-Hassan Saleh, Salem Rashid; Midfielders - Mohamed Al-Attas, Ali Salmeen, Yahya Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Fabio de Lima, Khalfan Mubarak; Forwards - Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Suhail Al Noubi, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tigali, Zayed Al Ameri.
Head Coach: Bert van Marwijk (Netherlands)
